I had plenty of money to keep me in the style I preferred. I’d rented a gorgeous home overlooking the Guanabara Bay, a beautiful harbor of turquoise saltwater. I had a vehicle at my disposal, a maid who came regularly, and I was close to shops and nightclubs.
Leaving New Orleans had been done for two reasons. One, I wanted to see how the boys handled running Indulgence. They’d always acted as if doing so was easy. Let them discover the truth.
Two, and more important, I wanted my family to realize it was time for them to allow me to enjoy my life. All of it. Getting away seemed like the logical choice to make a point. Plus, I hadn’t gone on a vacation in…
Wow.
Not since I’d graduated college.
Plus, there was that other thing, the nagging realization that kept my stomach in knots. Fuck it. I was determined to enjoy myself.
I’d been lucky in that when you had enough money, you could make anything happen quickly. The first-class flights had been a delight, more relaxing than I would have thought.
After taking another sip of wine, I finally felt the tension starting to ease.
With the light breeze, the waves, and the music coming from the beach bar, the atmosphere was perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
There was a chair on the other side of the tiny table and someone had decided to take up the spot without asking me.
Now that pissed me off.
Without drawing but so much attention to what I was doing, I grabbed my beach bag with my left hand, wrapping my fingers around one of two weapons I’d brought with me.
“Ora, você não atiraria em um homem desarmado deitado em uma cadeira de praia no meio do paraíso, não é?”
Now, you wouldn’t shoot an unarmed man lying on a beach chair in the middle of paradise. Would you?
Hearing his voice brought several emotions swirling close to the surface. Although my first instinct was to shoot him, I knew doing so would be difficult to explain. Besides, I would hate to permanently injure such an incredible body.
A vibe of electricity seared every inch of my skin, which I tried everything to shove aside.
“Duvido que você esteja desarmado. Embora, pelo que ouvi dizer, suas mãos sejam armas letais.”
I doubt you’re unarmed. Although from what I’ve heard, your hands are lethal weapons.
His laugh was throaty, the deep timbre sending shivers dancing down my spine, electrifying to the point my toes curled.
“Minha reputação me precede.”
My reputation precedes me.
My turn to make a sound, only I sighed in response. “I didn’t know you spoke Portuguese.” How in the hell had the man found me? I’d been extremely careful, as I was with all aspects of my personal life. My father had taught me the importance of keeping my financial business separate from everyone, including whatever man I fell in love with.
Which seemed like a pipedream at this point.
My emotions were all over the place.
Including excitement.
Unacceptable.
“Apparently there are several aspects about my life you don’t know about,” he said casually, as if locating me in a country I’d never been to before was no big deal.
When he took the wine from my hand, our fingers touched and I was shocked by the jolt of current sweeping through my system. I’d be damned if the bastard didn’t tease me by brushing his finger back and forth. What was he doing, trying to drive me crazy?
Finally, I lifted my head, yanking off my sunglasses and allowing him to take the wine. I pulled my hand away from the weapon, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t shoot him between the eyes later if he didn’t vacate the country.
